Bibliography of 1969 Articles on Straight Takeover

Cornell's Africana Library has compiled a bibliography of "Selected Newspaper Articles, Aftermath of Willard Straight Hall Takeover, April 1969" at this link. Most of the articles, all from April 1969, are from the Cornell Daily Sun, the Ithaca Journal and the New York Times.

Cornell Daily Sun Retrospective on 1969

On April 16, the Cornell Daily Sun published a retrospective on the 1969 events, titled "Forty Years Later: Assessing our Progress" at this link. The special issue features retrospective analysis by current Sun reporters; interviews with and reflections by participants and observers at the time of the Straight takeover (including an interview with Tom Jones); a reflection on the fate of Cornell professor Clinton Rossiter; a story on the photojournalism of the event; a timeline; and photographs.

40th Anniversary Panel at Cornell

The Cornell Daily Sun hosted a panel in Ithaca last weekend to reflect on the events of April 1969. The panel included Zach Carter ’72, who participated in the Straight takeover; Robert Gottlieb ’72, who witnessed it and was one of the first students on the Board of Trustees; former English Professor Dan McCall, who taught the first Black literature class at Cornell; David Burak ’67, who was a grad student and president of the Students for a Democratic Society; and Professor Robert Harris, Africana studies, former vice provost for diversity. The panel was chaired by Ed Zuckerman ’70 and Stan Chess ’69, former Sun editors in chief, who questioned the panelists.

The discussion revealed that even forty years after the fact, the events of that spring are still contentious. The Sun's report on the panel, "Straight Takeover Still Ignites Heated Debate," is at this link.

April 20, 1969 Extra Edition of Cornell Daily Sun

My freshman roommate John Berkoben sent me a saved and yellowed copy of the Cornell Daily Sun "Extra Edition" from April 20, 1969. I post here a scan of the the top half of the front page, with the headline "Black Students Seize Straight." The paper reports that the weather that day is sunny, high near 50. The Extra Edition is 4 pages, and cost 10 cents! (You should be able to expand and read the image by clicking on it).

It is fascinating to read these stories, and the Sun's editorial, which begins: "The occupation of Willard Straight Hall yesterday morning by members of the Afro-American Society was an irresponsible action, unsoundly motivated and setting forces in motion that may wreak harmful consequences on black and white Cornellians alike."

I do not know if the current editors of the Sun are planning to reprint all or part of this issue in their commemorative edition this week. But if they do not, and some of you would like to see more of the stories, statements and photos in this issue of the Sun, let me know and I will post more next week.

Current Cornell Student Journeys Back to 1969

Matt, a junior at Cornell and the photography editor for the Cornell Daily Sun, has an interesting post on his blog about his perusal of 1969 issues of the Sun, in preparing the special issue of the newspaper commemorating the WSH events. His post is at this link.. This Sun's special supplement will be published next Thursday, April 16.

Cornell Daily Sun Features Retrospectives on 1969

Emily Cohn, The Editor-in-Chief of The Cornell Daily Sun (editor@cornellsun.com), has sent the following information about The Sun's commemoration of the 1969 Takeover.

- We are running a series of interviews with key activists and witnesses, and have featured three thus far (click on the links to see the Sun's stories):

-- Robert Gottlieb '72
-- Steve Wallenstein '69
-- Art Spitzer '71

- We will be producing a 16-page commemorative issue to run on Thursday, April 16 that will feature articles printed in 1969 alongside some original content about the current state of campus activism, race relations at Cornell, and issues of as academic freedom in higher education today. Additionally, many witnesses and activists will be submitting new content for this issue.

- Lastly, we will be hosting a panel discussion to be held on Saturday, April 18. The line-up of guests is still being worked out, but I will let you know when this is finalized. It is our goal to unite activists involved in the takeover, current Cornell faculty members who were students at the time, and Sun alumni who documented the takeover itself.